DISNEYLAND: Day 3

Our third and final day began with saying our goodbyes to my family since they were all departing for home that day. As the four of us made our way to the parks (thinking we would start the day in CA Adventure) Declan told me he wanted to see Minnie Mouse. We had seen Minnie Mouse the previous days, but always from afar, never up close, so I told Sean that I wanted to take the kids into Disneyland first thing so that we could see her there. Once inside the entrance, I made a beeline for the spot where we had seen her before, and got up to the end of the short line of people waiting to see her. The very nice Cast Member who was attending to Minnie told me that he was actually cutting off the line because Minnie needed to take a break but would be back in about 5 minutes. I almost started to cry. I so badly wanted to make Declan's wish come true for him. It was really his only request the whole time we had been there. As I gathered my composure I remembered I had seen Minnie the other day coming down the street with the marching band, so I wheeled the kids in the stroller over to that area to see if she'd come out that way again. As we were waiting, Bert, from Mary Poppins came out and right over to my kids, squatting down to talk to them at their level. I squatted down as well to try and get them engaged with him, when out of my left peripheral vision I saw Micky Mouse standing over the stroller looking down at my kids!! I said "Look! It's Mickey!" They were a little stunned I think and didn't really have much of a response. Right after that, Bert said goodbye and Mickey wandered off and Minnie came out of the exact spot I thought she would. I said "There's Minnie Mouse!" and told the kids to go see her. She walked right towards Declan as he was getting out of the stroller and she greeted him, then grabbed his hand and took him for a little walk down the street. I couldn't even believe it. It was such a special, magical moment for all of us.

We then headed to CA Adventure as was originally planned, where we met up with Sean's uncle Mike and aunt Loris, who live in the LA area. We spent a good portion of the day in that park where we rode Toy Story Midway Mania, saw Donald Duck, rode Ariel's Undersea Adventure, and Monsters, Inc.

At this point we were ready for a break, so we got some smoothies, went to A Bug's Land, and let the kids play in the Puddle Park. Then we sat in the shade and had lunch, changed the kids clothes (they were soaking wet) and Sean took them to take a nap while I got to be on my own for a bit. I decided to go back into Disneyland, get an iced coffee (and a treat for the kids for later) and sit on Main St. One of my favorite things about Disneyland is Main St. It is just so full of that classic Disney feel. I love the sights and sounds that surround that area and enjoyed having some time to just absorb it all. So I sat in the shade and watched the characters, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip & Dale, Daisy, and Donald interact with each other and all the guests that came and went. It was pure magic. I then found a perfect spot along Main St. to watch the parade (again) and wait for the others to meet up with me. 

After watching the parade (which was just as exciting as the day before) we were pretty wiped out, so chose to do the Nemo Submarine again since the kids liked it so much, and then take the Monorail out of the park to Downtown Disney for dinner.

What an amazing time we had!! It was so exhausting, but so worth it. I am already planning our next trip...

whenever that may be.

DISNEYLAND: Day 2

We began our second day by going into Disneyland first, getting first time buttons for our kids (since we forgot the day before) getting pressed pennies inside The Mad Hatter, and spending some time with Chip and Dale (who were awesome and so patient with my kids). While saying goodbye to Chip and Dale, I heard the sound of a marching band, and turned to see one coming down the street, followed by The Mad Hatter and Minnie Mouse. So exciting and totally iconic Disney, in my opinion.

We then met up with my mom, Gary and Gramma (the Good's were in CA Adventure for the first part of the day) and proceeded to ride, It's A Small World, the Story Book Boats, Alice in Wonderland, and the Teacups (again). 

At this point we wanted to do some exploring in CA Adventure, so we headed into that park to have lunch in a nice shady area of Cars Land and take in the sights and sounds of that area since none of us had been before. This is where we rode one of our favorite rides, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, and also where we saw Mater and Lightening McQueen, which was super exciting for both my kids, especially Declan.

After nap, we headed back into Disneyland to get a special treat and watch the amazing Mickey's Soundsational Parade. 

For the last portion of the day, we met up with the whole group to ride Pirates of the Caribbean and Big Thunder Mountain. Then headed to Fantasyland for dinner, and to ride Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Then we made our way to Tomorrowland where we did the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Finding Nemo Submarine, Star Tours, and the Astro Orbiter.

DISNEYLAND: Day 1

We had such an amazing trip full of fun, magic, and adventure. We are all still adjusting to normal life and desperately want to go back to the Happiest Place on Earth, but until that is a possibility, we have our pictures and our memories. In this post I will share what we experienced on our first day in both Disneyland and California Adventure.

We decided to start the day in Disneyland, enter through the main entrance and take a picture in front of the iconic Mickey flowers.

Then we headed to Adventureland to enjoy the Tiki Room, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, and the Mark Twain Riverboat.

We then made our way to Fantasyland, via Frontierland, where we ran into Jessie from Toy Story. This was one of my favorite moments of our trip. Inara got so excited when she saw Jessie that she jumped out of the stroller and started to run towards her, and even though there were a few people waiting in line to see Jessie, they allowed Inara to "cut" in line. Jessie gave my kids a hug and when Inara was enthralled with the ride Big Thunder Mountain, Jessie played right along. Pointing to the train ride, and going over to the fence to watch it pass by with my two. It was so precious to watch.

Once arriving in Fantasyland, we rode the Carousel, Dumbo and the Teacups.

After that we decided it was time for lunch, which we brought into the park with us, so we took a break to eat, and while we ate we watched a really amazing live show called Mickey and the Magical Map. It was very well done, full of music and magic, and I highly recommend it.

My mom kindly offered to take our kids and nap them so Sean and I could do a couple things ourselves. So we were able to ride Space Mountain and Autopia, as well as get some churros, sit in the shade and relax.

After nap, we agreed to meet meet my mom (and Gary and my Gramma) in Toon Town where we saw Goofy, Pluto, Mickey in his house, and Declan and Sean rode Gadgets Go Coaster. My Gramma also bought the kids Mickey ears hats with their names inscribed on the back. They weren't super into them at first, so Sean and I wore them for a bit.

We wrapped up the afternoon/evening in California Adventure, riding Francis' Ladybug Boogie and Heimlich's Chew Chew Train, which my kids LOVED. Then we left the park to have dinner in Downtown Disney, meeting up with Clark, Molly, Jackson & Aubrey.

The Countdown Has Begun

ONE WEEK.
There is only one week left until we leave for Disneyland!!
I can't even believe it. I am SO excited.
But, if I am being honest, I am also a little apprehensive.
Here are my reasons for these conflicting feelings:

First of all, I am super excited to go to the Happiest Place on Earth, AND for my children to experience the magic of it all, at such a young age.
I am excited to see my family.  My mom, step-dad, grandma, brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew will all be joining us down there.
I am looking forward to the warm So. Cal. weather and being off of our normal schedule and routine, and just going with the flow.

Now, my reasons for feeling apprehensive are, that we are FLYING down and taking a shuttle bus to our vacation rental from LAX. With a 3 year old and a 21 month old.
I am afraid that my expectations are too high for the trip and I am going to be disappointed.
There are going to be several rides closed for refurbishment and I am sad that I won't be able to do some of the things I LOVE to do at Disneyland. And I am bummed that my kids won't be able to have the complete Disney experience.

But all in all, I am really looking forward to our first family trip to Disneyland. I think it will be a wonderful trip full of happy memories.

Here is our countdown chain:

And our planning binder:

Both of the above ideas I got from Pinterest and I must say, I would not be nearly as prepared for this trip without that wonderful resource.

Adventures in Potty Training

It's that time again...we have started training another child to use the potty. But I have to say, I am not super excited about it.

When we decided to train Declan, I was totally into it. I was done with diapers for him, we had just had Inara so we were going to be sticking close to home, I had lots of help since Sean took time off work and my mom came up to lend a hand, and it just felt like he was ready, even though he was only 20 moths old.

This time, I am totally done with diapers, PERIOD. I hate them. So that is a big motivator. Plus, Inara is SO ready, like Declan was, at 20 months. She tells us when she's pooped in her diaper, she insists on sitting on the potty anytime she sees Declan do it, she constantly pulls at her diaper and sometimes removes it completely. But for some reason I am just not into the work it takes to encourage successful potty training.

Nevertheless, we started on Friday and despite my reservations, it's been going really well. She's gone numerous times on the potty and only had a handful of accidents. She has even gone to sit on the potty without being prompted or asked. She's even said "Potty" to us, and then when we tell her to go sit, she pees. SO successful. And I am so proud of her. Again, I'm just not super into the hard work we as parents have to give towards making this milestone a victorious one. I am however looking forward to moving out of the baby stage that we have been in and into the toddler/preschool stage. That part is exciting and something to look forward to!

Reflecting

"We can not change where we've been, but we can change where we are going".

As I've been reflecting on 2014 I have felt the Lord use this quote to really speak to me. It's referring to the past, but not only the past year, the past in general. And while what has happened to us before is important and a part of our lives, it is not where we are going. We can not live in the past and our past does not define us. Isn't that amazing?

It makes me realize how much I love the New Year. I love that it gives each of us a chance to make a fresh start. It gives us the chance to reflect on the year behind us and look forward to the one in front of us. We leave one years accomplishments, failures, successes, defeats, victories and lessons all in the past and then eagerly await what is to come in the future...those things that God has already laid out for us to walk in.

Sean and I went out to dinner the other night and talked about what our hopes, dreams, and expectations were for this coming year. It was really fun and encouraging to go back and forth sharing what we'd like to see happen for ourselves, each other, our kids, our family and our relationships. Some of the ideas were new and even a bit surprising, while others were things we've talked about before, but have never fully gone after, for whatever reason.

I really feel like 2015 is going to be a great year for the Connolly Clan. Big plans are in the works and I just know that those things that we end up pursuing are going to be good because we serve a good God who loves us and only wants good things for us.

Christmastime is Here Again!

The Christmas season is upon us! Even though it starts trickling in well before Thanksgiving, I typically don't get too involved in Christmas-type things until the day after Thanksgiving.
This year we kicked off the season with a visit from my mom, step-dad, and grandma who joined us in an array of fun Christmas events. It started on Saturday with a trip to Jacksonville to enjoy the decorations, then we headed out again in the evening for the tree lighting in downtown Medford, which included an unsuccessful visit with Santa. Then after church on Sunday, we journeyed to our favorite tree farm in search for the perfect tree to cut down. What a wonderfully full weekend we had!